Newark Airport was hit with a ground stop on Sunday morning due to staffing shortages, a direct consequence of the ongoing government shutdown that has disrupted various operations nationwide.
This New Jersey airport, which handles close to 1,200 flights daily, announced the advisory in the early hours of Sunday.
Ranked as the eighth busiest airport in the United States, Newark accommodates around 50 different carriers.
This ground stop follows a series of similar challenges at airports across the country, all grappling with significant staffing issues triggered by the shutdown that commenced on October 1.
Over 13,000 air traffic controllers have been working without pay during this period.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) implemented the ground stop at Newark from 7 a.m. to 8:45 a.m., identifying the cause as a ‘staffing’ problem.
The Ground Delay Program – a traffic flow plan – is expected to be implemented at Newark if the delays are continued.
This is not the first time this week that Newark has been shut down over staffing issues. On October 29, delays lasted nearly 90 minutes at the airport.
The New Jersey airport, which sees hundreds of flights coming in and out every day, issued the advisory in the early hours of Sunday morning
Stock image: Travelers stand in line at the check-in counter at Spirit Airlines at Newark Liberty International Airport on June 30
The airport is approximately the eighth busiest airport in the country , and serves about 50 carriers
Furious travelers who were preparing to fly out of the airport on Sunday morning expressed their rage at the ground stop.
One person wrote on X: ‘Newark Airport is the biggest joke on the planet,’ while another added: ‘Newark Airport count your days.’
On Halloween, thousands of flights were delayed due to severe weather and staffing shortages resulting from the government shutdown.
Ground delays were issued across Orlando MCO, Austin-Bergstrom Airport and Nashville International Airport due to an air traffic control staffing shortage.
As of 3pm ET on Friday, 3,437 flights within, into or out of the United States have been delayed and 331 canceled, according to Flight Aware.
On Thursday, 7,250 flights were delayed and 1,249 were canceled across the country.
Thousands of passengers were left stranded in Orlando last night after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced there would be ‘no certified controllers for a period of time’, which would ‘prevent landings’ at Orlando Airport, the closest major airport to both Disney World and Universal Studios.
On October 24, chaos unfolded at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport and San Diego Airport when unpaid air traffic controllers abandoned their towers.
And the issue plaguing American airports is set to continue – with even more flight interruptions expected after Congress failed to provide last-minute relief for air-traffic controllers and other federal aviation workers.
John F Kennedy Airport was among the giant international airports facing ground delays due to alarming weather and staffing crises on Friday.
The city’s emergency management office wrote that JFK Airport – as well as LaGuardia – were under traffic restrictions.
JFK was under a full ground stop until midnight because of staff shortages, while further delays were caused by extreme windy conditions.
The shortages are sparking outrage among Republicans, as Vice President JD Vance warned on Thursday that holiday air travel could become a ‘disaster’ if the shutdown is not resolved.
‘What happens when the security lines are not an hour long, but they’re four hours long? What happens when pilots start not showing up for work because they’re so focused on paying the bills, they can’t fly the plane safely? That’s going to lead to massive delays,’ he said.
Vance added that federal workers missing paychecks could fail to show up for work, further straining airport operations.
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